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IMPORTANCE There are limited reports on the relationship between mucin 5AC (MUC5AC) concentrations in tears, working hours, and the frequency of ocular symptoms in visual display terminal (VDT) users. This investigation evaluated these relationships among patients with dry eye disease (DED) and individuals serving as controls. OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship between MUC5AC concentration in the tears of VDT users based on the diagnosis of DED and frequency of ocular symptoms. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS An institutional, cross-sectional study was conducted. Participants included 96 young and middle-aged Japanese office workers. Both eyes of 96 volunteers (60 men and 36 women) were studied. Participants working in a company that used VDTs completed questionnaires about their working hours and the frequency of ocular symptoms. Dry eye disease was diagnosed as definite or probable, or it was not present. Tear fluid was collected from the inferior fornix after instillation of 50 μL of sterilized saline. The MUC5AC concentration was normalized to tear protein content and expressed as MUC5AC (nanograms) per tear protein (milligrams). The differences in MUC5AC concentration between DED groups, between VDT working hours (short, intermediate, and long), and between symptomatic and asymptomatic groups were evaluated with 95% CIs based on nonparametric Hodges-Lehmann determination. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Ocular surface evaluation, prevalence of DED, and MUC5AC concentration. RESULTS The prevalence of definite and probable DED was 9% (n = 9) and 57% (n = 55), respectively. The mean MUC5AC concentration was lower in the tears of VDT users with definite DED than in those with no DED (P = .02; Hodges-Lehmann estimator, −2.17; 95% CI, −4.67 to −0.30). The mean MUC5AC concentration in tears was lower in the group that worked longer hours than in the group that worked shorter hours (P = .049; estimated difference, −1.65; 95% CI, −3.12 to 0.00). Furthermore, MUC5AC concentration was lower in participants with symptomatic eye strain than in asymptomatic individuals (P = .001; estimated difference, −1.71; 95% CI, −2.86 to −0.63). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The data obtained in the present study suggest that office workers with prolonged VDT use, as well as those with an increased frequency of eye strain, have a low MUC5AC concentration in their tears. Furthermore, MUC5AC concentration in the tears of patients with DED may be lower than that in individuals without DED.

We evaluated ocular surface alterations in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients with or without chronic GVHD-related dry eye in a prospective study. Fifty eyes of 25 post-HSCT patients and 28 eyes of 14 age-matched healthy controls were included. Meibomian gland (MG) obstruction, tear evaporation rate, corneal sensitivity (CS), Schirmer test-I, tear break-up time (BUT) and ocular surface vital staining were examined. Conjunctival impression and brush cytology specimens were collected to evaluate the goblet cell density (GCD) and the inflammatory cell numbers. Obvious MG obstruction, decreased CS and enhanced tear evaporation rate were found in post-HSCT patients compared with normal controls. In addition, decreased conjunctival GCD, increased conjunctival squamous metaplasia and inflammatory cells were noted in cGVHD-related dry eyes compared with normal controls and post-HSCT without dry eye subjects. Furthermore, the conjunctival inflammatory cells were significantly higher in severe dry eyes compared with mild dry eyes (P ¼ 0.03). We found comprehensive ocular surface alteration in post-HSCT patients, regardless of whether they had cGVHD-related dry eye or not. The results suggest that the extent of inflammatory process seems to have a pivotal role in the outcome of the cGVHD-related dry eye.

High resolution spectra of the 1 1Π(v′=13–69,J′)←X 1Σ+(v″,J″) and 2 1Π(v′=0–13,J′)←X 1Σ+(v″,J″) transitions of the K8539Rb molecule have been measured with the technique of Doppler-free optical–optical double resonance polarization spectroscopy (OODRPS). Molecular constants of the 1 1Π(v=13–69) and 2 1Π(v=0–13) levels have been determined, and potential energy curves constructed by the RKR method. The RKR potential of the 1 1Π state was found to have a distortion at outer wall, which originates from an avoided crossing of two  1Π states. The perturbations between the 1 1Π(v1,J) and 2 1Π(v2,J) levels were found from the energy shifts of the rotational levels. The magnitude of the nonadiabatic interaction between the 1 1Π(v1=54) and 2 1Π(v2=9) levels, 〈1 1Π(v1=54)|TN|2 1Π(v2=9)〉, was evaluated to be 2.2 cm−1 by a least squares fitting to the energy shifts of the 1 1Π(v1=54,J=20–33) levels. The line intensities were observed to change dramatically around the maximum energy shift. These intensity anomalies are interpreted as an interference effect, which occurs when two interacting levels have comparable transition moments. A remarkable line broadening was observed for the transitions to the 1 1Π(v⩾63) levels, and it was identified as originating from the predissociation to K(4s2S1/2)+Rb(5p2P1/2) atoms. The dissociation energies of the X 1Σ+, 1 1Π, and 2 1Π states have been determined to be 4217.4±0.8, 2021.5±0.8, and 1050.0±0.8 cm−1, respectively.

Gastric cancer is the second common malignant neoplasia in Japan, and its poorly differentiated form is a deadly disease. To identify novel candidate oncogenes contributing to its genesis, we examined copy-number alterations in 50 primary poorly differentiated gastric cancers using an array-based comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH). Many genetic changes were identified, including a novel amplification of the 13q22 locus. Several genes are located in this locus, and selective knockdown of one for the Kr€ uppel-like factor 12 (KLF12) induced significant growtharrest in the HGC27 gastric cancer cell line. Microarray analysis also demonstrated that genes associated with cell proliferation were mostly changed by KLF12 knockdown. To explore the oncogenic function of KLF12, we introduced a full length of human KLF12 cDNA into NIH3T3 and AZ-521 cell lines and found that overexpression significantly enhanced their invasive potential. In clinical samples, KLF12 mRNA in cancer tissue was increased in 11 of 28 cases (39%) when compared with normal gastric epithelium. Clinicopathological analysis further demonstrated a significant correlation between KLF12mRNA levels and tumor size (p 5 0.038). These data suggest that the KLF12 gene plays an important role in poorly differentiated gastric cancer progression and is a potential target of therapeutic measures. ' 2009 UICC

We investigated the effect of 0.05% topical cyclosporine (Cys) on the ocular surface and tear functions in dry eye patients with chronic GVHD (cGVHD) in a prospective comparative study. Thirty eyes of 15 patients refractory to baseline treatment were recruited and the patients assigned for topical Cys treatment group (14 eyes of 7 patients) and control group (12 eyes of 6 patients) respectively. Two patients dropped out because of intolerable irritation while using topical Cys eye drops. Visual analog scale symptom scores, corneal sensitivity, Schirmer I test value, tear film break-up time (TBUT), tear evaporation rate and ocular surface vital staining scores were recorded at baseline and at the end of the following one month. Conjunctival impression and brush cytology were performed before and after the treatment. After topical Cys treatment, significant improvements were found in symptom scores, corneal sensitivity, tear evaporation rate, TBUT, vital staining scores, goblet cells density, conjunctival squamous metaplasia grade, inflammatory cell numbers and the MUC5AC expression. Our study suggests that 0.05% topical Cys may be an effective treatment for dry eye patients with cGVHD. The improvements in the ocular surface and tear functions resulted presumably from the decreased inflammation, increased goblet cell density and MUC5AC mRNA expression.

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